A lighthouse family getaway is a unique tourism trend that is growing worldwide which allows people to take a holiday in a lighthouse. Ordinary tourists are looking for remote or romantic retreats at the ocean’s edge and a holiday stay in one of these unique accommodation destinations may be just what you are looking for. The US, Europe and Australia have hundreds of stays on offer while South Africa has a mere handful.
The most luxurious lighthouse family getaway offering is the inactive Shark Island Lighthouse at the Shark Island Resort in Lüderitz, which can be quite expensive. Of South Africa’s 31 lighthouses only five offer accommodation. In the Western Cape you have a choice from three, in one of the three cottages at Cape Columbine near Paternoster on the West Coast, or in the self-catering cottage at Cape St Blaize, outside Mossel Bay.
Danger Point, which looks across to the notorious rock that sank the HMS Birkenhead, also has self-catering accommodation. Heading up the coast, accommodation is available at the Great Fish Point lighthouse near Port Alfred, and the North Sand Bluff at Port Edward has two romantic cottages on offer. Daytime visits are possible to most in the country if you are not intending on spending a lighthouse family holiday together on the ocean’s edge.